Few students of Bible prophecy will deny that we live in the days just prior to the return of Jesus Christ. All around we see the signs of the Saviour's return: wars, famines, disease epidemics, sexual vice, religious/ethnic persecution, global pollution, floods, droughts, escalating violence and the terrifying rape of earth's natural resources. Yes, these are the closing days of our age and only the spiritually blind will fail to recognise that something is terribly wrong. Before the Saviour left this earth, he listed the events (signs) that would occur on earth just prior to his return. They are recorded in passages such as Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.

Matt.24: 6: And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7: For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8: All these are the beginning of sorrows..

Commenting on the behaviour of mankind in the last days the Apostle Paul writes the following:

2 Tim.3: 1: This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2: For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3: Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4: Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5: Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

No one will doubt that these are accurate descriptions of our time. Even the unbelieving world is becoming increasingly aware that something is terribly wrong with the human race. But what is the next event before Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah) returns to earth? Millions of Christians think that the next event will be the Secret Rapture. The rapture, they think, could occur any moment now * any day, any night! When it does occur, they believe, millions of faithful Christians will be secretly caught up to heaven, leaving the rest of mankind to go through the Great Tribulation described in the book of Revelation. Is that what you are waiting for * the Secret Rapture? If you are, then read this article with special care.

The Apostle Paul warns the church not to be deceived by any false teaching about the vital matter of the Messiah's return. He tells us that before the Saviour returns to earth the Antichrist, the Man of Sin, will appear. In other words, close though we are to the return of Jesus Christ, expect the appearance of the Antichrist first. Consider Paul's words in:

2 Thess. 2: 1: Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2: That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3: Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

Notice that before Jesus Christ returns to earth these two events must take place:

A falling away first
The man of sin is revealed
The falling away (from the Truth and the Faith once delivered to the early church) has already begun. All over the world believers are giving up their faith and rebelling against the truth. These foundations of law and order (faith and obedience) are being jettisoned. Open any newspaper, switch on any radio or television set in any country and rebellion against law and order will be the main news, in so-called Christian countries! What is even more tragic is that thousands of Christian preachers also take delight in rebelling against the law of God! They teach:

That Yahweh's law is now obsolete
That it restricts man's freedom
That it is impossible to keep anyway
And that believers are all free from the law!
It is difficult, if not impossible, to describe the gravity and danger of such error. But this paper is not about Yahweh's law nor the church's falling away from the truth. This article is about the Antichrist, who is also referred to in the Scriptures as the Son of Perdition, the Lawless One, the Man of Sin etc. Make no mistake, failure to identify the Antichrist, who is to appear just before the return of Jesus Christ to earth, will be catastrophic.

No one can afford to mistake the identity of the Antichrist. To do so could cost a person eternal life! This Bible*based article will help the reader identify him when he makes his appearance. Read it prayerfully, several times over, and keep it in a safe place. In the Bible the Antichrist is known by several names or descriptions. They are:

The Son of Perdition.
The Wicked One.
The Beast
The Man of Sin.
The Little Horn
The Mystery of Lawlessness etc.
Some of our readers will be acquainted with these terms, for many books and articles have been written about the Antichrist. But, strange as it may seem, comparatively few writers support with scriptural proof their conclusions about the Antichrist. Therefore in order to arrive at the truth, we will allow the Scriptures alone to give us the answer to the question:

Who/What is the Antichrist?

As we have already pointed out, failure to identify the Antichrist will be catastrophic. The reader is advised, therefore, to check all the statements and conclusions made in this article to confirm that they are scripturally sound. If you do not agree with what is written here, then let us have your opinion; making sure that you give an alternative explanation to all the texts that we have used to prove our stand. Six identifying clues about the Antichrist will now be considered.

CLUE NO. 1

The Antichrist is the 'Man of Sin'

2 Thess.2: 3: Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

He is called the man of sin (another word for lawlessness) because he vainly thinks that he can break and finally change the law of the Almighty God. According to the prophet Daniel the particular commandments the Antichrist vainly imagines he can break and change are the ones which deal with the element of time. This means the Sabbath commandments; for they are the only ones in the law of God which deal with the element of time.

Daniel 7: 25: And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws:

The Aramaic word sh@na' {shen-aw'} means to change, transform, frustrate. And the Aramaic word z@man {zem-awn'} means a set time or season. In other words the Antichrist would attempt to change, transform and frustrate the Almighty's set or appointed times in God's law. And that is exactly what the Lawless One has tried to do by introducing the pagan festivals of Christmas, Easter and Sunday.

CLUE NO. 2

The Antichrist lived before the year AD 96.

When the prophecy of the Revelation was being given (about AD 96) the Beast, to all intents and purposes, was dead.

Rev.17: 8: The beast that thou sawest was, and is not…

This is a vital clue; for it tells us that the Beast lived before the year AD 96; 'he was' (was alive) before the Revelation was given. It also tells us that the Beast was dead in that year; he 'is not;' was not alive when the prophecy was given. A small but vital clue, so remember it.

CLUE NO. 3

The Antichrist will rise to life from out of the Bottomless Pit.

Rev.11: 7: And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

Rev.17: 8: The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition…

What is the Bottomless Pit? Where is Bottomless Pit?

According to Strong's Bible Dictionary the Greek word abussos {ab'-us-sos} translated Bottomless Pit is the bottomless, unbounded abyss: a pit of immeasurable depth: a very deep gulf or chasm in the lowest parts of the earth used as the common receptacle of the dead and especially as the abode of demons

In the Gospel of Luke we read how evil angels in times past begged Jesus not to order them to the 'deep,' the 'abussos,' the Bottomless Pit, the Abyss, the angel penitentiary where the Beast is being held captive.

Luke 8: 31: And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.

2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.

Jude 6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

In other words, many evil angels are currently being held captive in the Abyss (the Bottomless Pit, a place in the lowest parts of the earth) where they await their Day of Judgement. Free-roaming demons are terrified of being sent there. This clue tells us that the Antichrist comes from that place - the Bottomless Pit!

CLUE NO. 4

When the Antichrist rises from the Abyss he will reveal himself to mankind and claim to be God!

Rev.17: 8: The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

2 Thess.2: 4: Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5: Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6: And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7: For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8: And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.

So important is this clue that it must be repeated: When the Antichrist ascends from out of the Abyss, he will claim to be God and will reveal himself to mankind!

Notice that the Antichrist doesn't merely speak as though he were an infallible spokesman of God. Many Roman Catholic and Protestant leaders already do that. Oh no, the Antichrist goes much further; he will reveal himself to mankind and say: I AM GOD!

CLUE NO. 5

The Antichrist will reign for three and a half years (42 months).

After being released from the Abyss the Antichrist will begin a world-wide reign of terror which is scheduled to last three and a half years or 42 months. During this period virtually every person on earth will worship the Antichrist as God!

Dan.7: 25: And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

Time = 1 year.
Times = 2 years.
Dividing of Times = half a year.
This makes a total of three and a half years or 42 months.

Rev.13: 5: And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
6: And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7: And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8: And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

CLUE NO. 6

Antichrist will attack the armies of heaven and challenge Jesus Christ himself.

According to the prophecy of Daniel 8 the Little Horn will attack the army of heaven, enter the heavenly Temple and cast many of God's holy angels to the earth. He will even challenge Christ, the Prince of the heavenly host!

Dan.8: 10: And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
11: Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

The temporary victory against the heavenly sanctuary and its host deludes the Antichrist into thinking he can even prevent the true Messiah from returning to the earth. In a vain attempt to accomplish this futile plan, the Antichrist, Beast marshals the armies of the world to make war against the Saviour at his second advent.

Rev.19: 19: And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
20: And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

That is how the Antichrist will meet his death: in the lake of fire. From that death the Antichrist will never rise again.

POPULAR BELIEFS ABOUT THE ANTICHRIST

Incredible as it may seem, none of the popular interpretations about the Antichrist fit these six scriptural clues. Most do not fit even two clues, let alone all six. Let us now consider some of the popular opinions about the Antichrist that are circulating in the Christian world.

International Communism
Many groups believed that International Communism was the Antichrist. In view of the break up of the former Soviet Union that interpretation is now dead. Communism, in fact, does not match clues 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

United Nations Organisation (UN)
Others think that the UN is the Antichrist. But the UN's impotence is all too evident these days. Besides, the UN doesn't fit a single one of those six clues; so it cannot be the Beast.

European Economic Community (EEC):
Still others think that the EEC is the Antichrist; that as the resurrected Roman Empire it will some day govern the whole world. But the EEC also doesn't match a single one of those six clues. Besides the EEC has been in existence a lot longer than three and a half years.

The Papacy
Millions of Protestants believe that the Papacy is the Antichrist. This is a tragic mistake. How do we know? Because of the following reasons:

The Papacy did not come out of the Abyss as required by Clue No.2. The Abyss remains shut till after the sealing of the 144000.
The Papacy was not in existence before AD 96 as required by Clue No.3.
The Pope does not claim to be God as required by Clue No.4.
Nor do Roman Catholics, let alone the whole world, worship the Pope as God. (Clue No.5) The Pope claims to be the Vicar of God. Indeed thousands of vicars, prophets and priests of many faiths make the same claim.. The Papacy has been in power for a lot longer than three and a half years; whether we compute a day for a year or not Clue No.5. The Papacy is totally incapable of attacking the heavenly host and casting some of God's holy angels down to earth. Nor will the Papacy be able to marshal earth's armies to fight Jesus Christ at his return. The very idea is ludicrous. See Clue No.6. In other words, the Papacy doesn't even fit two of the six clues. So labelling the Papacy as the Antichrist is both unscriptural and dangerous. To be sure, the Papacy is one of the Great Whore's prostitute daughters whose spiritual mother rides the Beast of Revelation; but the Papacy is not the Beast.
A New World Order
Some groups believe that the Antichrist is a New World Order, a coalition of the world's religious and political systems. To be sure, when the Antichrist appears he will head the world's final political, religious and military systems; which, as predicted, are led by him to attack the land of Israel (Zech.14:1). But the Antichrist is not the system itself. When he arrives a confederacy of the remnants of all the powers that have gone before (the lion, the bear, the leopard etc.) will be under his leadership; but the Antichrist is not the confederacy. He is the MIND in the seventh head; five previous heads had fallen (those that had ruled ancient Egypt, Assyria, Babylon,Medo/Persia, Greece); the sixth (Rome) was still in power in AD 96. The seventh world empire is in the process of development. It is coming into existence at this very moment. (1998) Antichrist will indeed head this world-dominating end-time religio/political systems; but he is not a world empire. I repeat, he is the seventh head of the world's last empire. He is the brain that will control it. The belief that the Antichrist is a composite religio*political confederacy is incomplete; it does not fit all the scriptural clues we have listed in this article.

THEY ARE:

Clue No.1 refers to the Antichrist as the Man of Lawlessness, the Son of Perdition. One could hardly refer to a world order as a man!
Clue No.2 requires that the Antichrist existed before AD96. How could it logically be called a 'new world order' if it existed long ago?
Clue No.3 requires that the Antichrist is resurrected from the Abyss. The Abyss, as we have learned, is an angel dungeon which remains shut till after the 144000 are sealed. The Abyss houses evil angels, not human beings or man*made systems.
Clues 4 & 5 say the Antichrist will claim to be God; and that virtually all the peoples of the world will worship him as God. How can a religio/political system claim to be God? And even more unthinkable, can you imagine the peoples of the world accepting such a claim and then worshipping that confederacy as God? The idea is farcical.

Satan the Devil
Others believe that Antichrist is Satan the Devil.
They are also mistaken, because of the following reasons.

In the Revelation Satan is pictured as the Dragon (Rev 12:3*9), whereas the Antichrist is pictured as the Beast to whom the Dragon gives his power, his throne and great authority (Rev.13:1*2). How, then, can they be the same person?
Satan was not confined to the Abyss before AD 96. Indeed Satan has been alive, free and very active ever since the Garden of Eden. Scores of scriptural texts prove this fact.
Satan will be cast into the Abyss at Christ's return and held a captive there for a thousand years (Rev 20:1). The Antichrist, however, will be burned to death in the lake of fire at Christ's return (Rev 19:20).
In other words, we are dealing with two separate beings:

The Beast who will be released from the Abyss shortly before Christ's return; and will be put to death at the Saviour's return.
And Satan the Dragon who will be cast into the Abyss for a thousand years at the Saviour's return.

WHO OR WHAT, THEN, IS THE ANTICHRIST?

Now that we have examined what the Scriptures have to say about the Antichrist; and how the popular interpretations concerning him do not match those six clues, the question still remains: Who or what is the Antichrist? The following answer takes into account the scriptural clues detailed in this article. We trust that you will prayerfully consider it. Before giving the answer let us summarise what we have already learned from those six clues:

The Antichrist is a lawless being who vainly imagines he can change the Sabbath and Festival commandments in Yahweh's law.
The Antichrist lived sometime before the year AD 96. In that year he was referred to as being dead.
Along with many other evil spirits, the Antichrist was imprisoned in the bottomless Pit; an angel penitentiary from which he will be released at the 5th Trumpet. His release will take place after the sealing of the 144000. At his release he will only be allowed to torment those who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads (Rev.9:4).
On being released from the Abyss the Antichrist will reveal himself to mankind and claim to be the Almighty God! (Rev.17:8, 2 Thess.2:4)
His reign of terror will last three and a half years: during which time virtually all the inhabitants of the earth will worship him as God.
He will then attack the heavenly sanctuary and cast some of God's holy angels down to the earth. He will finally marshal the armies of the world in an attempt to prevent Christ returning to earth. But he will be defeated in the attempt and burned to death in the lake of fire (Dan.8:9*14, Rev.19:19*21).

QUESTION: Who, then, is the Antichrist?

ANSWER: With those six scriptural clues in mind we answer as follows:

The Antichrist is Abaddon the demon king of the Bottomless Pit.
Abaddon is the leading demon to be released from the Abyss from where the Beast comes. Abaddon is called the King of the Bottomless Pit. He alone can fit those six scriptural clues. If you will read Revelation chapter 9 you will get some idea of how this sadist of unspeakable depravity will behave when he is released from the Abyss. The only safeguard against Abaddon the Destroyer is to accept the Seal of God in your forehead (your mind). Yahweh's seal is His law; and the Sabbath Days in His law are His Signature, His Sign.

Isa. 8:16 Bind up the testimony, seal the LAW among my disciples. Heb.8: 10: For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my LAWS into their mind, and write them on their hearts...

Eze.20: 12: Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a SIGN between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.

When the Abyss is opened the world is going to witness scenes of awful terror. Because that is when Abaddon the Exterminator will arise from the Abyss to brutalise mankind. Yes, ABADDON IS THE ANTICHRIST for he alone fits those six identifying clues.

Rev.9: 11: And they had a king over them, which is the Angel of the bottomless pit (the Abyss) whose name in the Hebrew is ABADDON, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon (the Destroyer)

The prophecy also tells us that three unclean spirits like frogs, the spirits of devils, issue from the mouths of the Dragon, the Beast and the false Prophet. In other words, the Antichrist (the Beast) is an evil, unclean being like Satan the Devil and the False Prophet. Unclean output (lies) issues from each of their mouths.

Rev.16: 13: And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

As king of the evil host which emerges from the Bottomless Pit, Abaddon is the personification of evil, a sadist of unspeakable depravity and he speaks with an unclean, lying tongue!

Abaddon is to Satan what Jesus (Yeshua) is to Yahweh his Father.
Abaddon is the Lawless One, Yeshua (Jesus) is the Righteous One.
Abaddon is the False Messiah, Yeshua is the True Messiah.
Abaddon existed ages ago, before he was consigned to the Pit for sexual sins hinted at in 2 Peter 2:4*7, Jude 6*7. Satan awaits Abaddon's release from the Bottomless Pit with great impatience. When the Bottomless Pit is opened Satan will hand over all his power and authority to Abaddon (Rev.13:2) in the same way as God the Father handed all power and authority over to Jesus His only begotten Son (Matt.28:18).

Yes, Abaddon is the Antichrist, the Lawless One, the Man of Sin!

In the light of Scripture no other logical conclusion is possible. We live in a world of escalating turmoil and rebellion. In the home, the classroom, the state and the church, rebellion is the order of the day and millions are falling away from the faith. This is the first phase of the Apostle Paul's prophecy (2 Thess.2) and we have already entered it. The next phase is the coming of the Antichrist, Abaddon the demon from the Abyss. Are you taking steps to escape the terrors of Abaddon? Remember only those who have the Seal of God in their foreheads will escape Abaddon's tortures (Rev.9:4).
What is the Seal and Sign of God?
What is the Mark of the Beast?
These are questions which you must be able to answer * correctly. Patiently waiting to be raptured away to heaven when the Scriptures warn of lawlessness and impending doom is courting disaster to say the least. You must awake to the realities of the great rebellion against law and order that is currently sweeping the world. You must also be on your guard against those who preach lawlessness from the pulpit; that the Law of the Almighty is obsolete and that the Sabbath and Festival commandments in it have been changed or done away with. Be on special guard against that dangerous deception!
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/sbs777/snotes/note1004.html

__________________
“...I realized I had to gain more knowledge to protect against evil and to protect myself from not becoming evil myself. This is our major goal in life...\" Terry Lee

The antiChrist according to the Bible is clearly a regular man. He will be possesed by Satan eventually. because he wil have all the nations at his feet and require worship, I guess it will not be hard to identify him when the time comes.

Abbadon is a powerful demon that comes out of the abyss after antiChrist is already running his game. The Bible also says that it is apointed for men to die once and then judgement, so he will be no Nero ressurected.

I lean that way, too. The Book clearly states that the "Beast" is a human being.
There are accounts of miraculous revivals of those who had died or been declared dead in the Christian community, but I doubt that someone who has been dead and decayed for years could see the light of day again.
Not all people who are possessed vomit pea soup and do naughty things with a crucifix. They can function like anyone else, yet they are enslaved to the demon(s) within them.